1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a document management system and, more particularly, to a document management system utilizing application specific graphics, commands and text in a global document management environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Document management systems are well-known in the art. Given the diversity of document types maintained by such systems, prior art document management systems use a standard set of commands, icons and text unique to the document management system. Unfortunately, these standard commands are often unique to the document management system and may bear little resemblance to the commands, icons and text associated with the underlying “source” applications associated with the documents being managed.
Retrieving and managing numerous document types from a large database is difficult enough without users having to adapt to, and make assumptions about, how the document management system standard commands, icons and text relate to the commands, icons and text associated with the underlying source applications with which they are familiar. It would therefore be desirable to provide a document management system capable of utilizing the commands, icons and text associated with the underlying source applications.
One problem with prior art document management systems is that source applications, like document management system applications, file storage applications, and operating systems do not use the same types of commands, icons and text. One source application may use the phrase “trash can” for substantially the same item another underlying source application uses the phrase “graveyard.” Selecting one phrase over the other in a document management system cannot help but confuse users expecting encountering “graveyard” when they expect to see a “trash can.” It would therefore be desirable to provide a document management system capable of utilizing source application specific descriptive text.
An additional drawback associated with prior art document management systems involves source applications changing commands, icons and text with subsequent versions. Even if a prior art document management system was programmed with “source application specific” commands, icons and text, the document management system would have to be modified and updated every time one of the many underlying source applications changed. Additionally, between the time of the underlying source application change and the update to the document management system, the document management system may crash or, at the very least, not be able to utilize the most current commands, icons and text associated with the underlying source applications. It would therefore be desirable to provide a document management system capable of utilizing the most current commands, icons and text associated with the underlying source applications.
Yet another drawback associated with prior art document management systems is the adoption of document management system icons for files, rather than the underlying source application icons with which users have become accustomed. While not critical successful operation of a document management system, the use of unfamiliar icons runs the risk of increasing delays and mistakes associated with misidentification. It would therefore be desirable to provide a document management system which utilized the same file icons as the underlying source applications.
While it might be possible to program a document management system with all of the unique commands, icons and text associated with certain source applications, the document management system would still not be able to utilize the commands, icons and text associated with other source applications the user may wish to utilize. The system would also not be able to utilize the commands, icons and text associated with new source applications as they became available.
Although there are some prior art systems which do allow for a minimal amount of cross application commands, such prior art applications are designed with similar software modules and similar commands either very specific to particular source applications or very generic, limiting themselves to only the most basic commands. Accordingly, functionality-rich cross-platform systems are relegated to custom application specific environments, or are difficult to use, functionality poor systems, using generic icons and text and capitalizing on those few commands and operations with a specific identity spanning as many source applications as possible. It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a functionality rich system with the ability to utilize a broad range of operators across many underlying source applications.
Based upon the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a document management system capable of utilizing the commands, icons and text associated with the underlying source applications. The desired system would be functionality rich system and would utilize a broad range of operators across many underlying source applications. The difficulties associated with the prior art discussed hereinabove are substantially eliminated by the present invention.